Dangling Modifiers- Terrorists and Hostages

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kanha81: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 431; Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:32 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 16 times

by kanha81 » Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:50 pm

I could not find the following quesiton in the forum, so I am posting this for further clarification.

Torn between [spoiler][D][/spoiler] and [spoiler][E][/spoiler]

Somber in tone and menacing in content, the leader of the terrorists who were holding the hostages sent a message leaving little hope that they would be released by the end of the week.

(A) leader of the terrorists who were holding the hostages sent a message leaving little hope that they would be

(B) leader of the terrorists holding the hostages sent a message that left little hope for their being

(C) leader of the terrorists holding the hostages sent a message leaving little hope of the hostages being

(D) message sent by the leader of the terrorists who were holding the hostages left little hope that the hostages would be

(E) message that was sent by the leader of the terrorists who were holding the hostages left little hope for the hostages to be

Any suggestions or pointers?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:50 pm

karmayogi: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 467; Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:19 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 27 times

by karmayogi » Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:43 pm

Only message can be somber and menacing, so eliminate A, B, and C. Between D and E, I would go for D. D is pithier, and 'that" is clearly describing the hope.

Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divine within.
--By Swami Vivekananda

lilu: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 148; Joined: Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:13 pm; Location: SF, CA; Thanked: 12 times

by lilu » Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:47 pm

Both D and E are correct, but D is less wordy than E, so D must be the answer.

4seasoncentre: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 211; Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2009 12:17 pm; Thanked: 12 times; GMAT Score:680

by 4seasoncentre » Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:55 pm

I vote D as well. First 3 can be eliminated, unless you argue that people can be sombre in tone and menacing in context- I've met some.

mharv: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 36; Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:14 pm; Location: Bangalore; Thanked: 2 times; GMAT Score:390

usage of that

by mharv » Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:43 am

I think your answer can be found in this post

https://www.beatthegmat.com/usage-of-tha ... 14000.html

E is an example of using that in a redundant form, thereby making D the best choice

Regards,
Arvind

amit_unlimited: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 8; Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:01 pm; Location: India

by amit_unlimited » Mon Apr 20, 2009 3:10 am

A,B,C are clearly out.Misplaced modifier.

Between D and E.I would go for D.

First of all D is brief and in my opinion E changes the meaning by writing "left little hope for the hostages"

D Correctly writes that "left little hope that the hostages would be".

See the letter certainly has been addressed to some authority and not to the hostages.The authorities had hope that the hostages would be released. Now the letter left little hope that the hostages would be released by the end of the week.

kanha81: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 431; Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:32 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 16 times

Re: usage of that

by kanha81 » Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:18 pm

mharv wrote:I think your answer can be found in this post

https://www.beatthegmat.com/usage-of-tha ... 14000.html

E is an example of using that in a redundant form, thereby making D the best choice

Thanks. OA is [spoiler][D][/spoiler]

Want to Beat GMAT.
Always do what you're afraid to do. Whoooop GMAT

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